


The Endless Sea

by LacriChan



Category: Captain America (Movies), Captain America - All Media Types, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: All Avengers are human, Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Canon-Typical Violence, Dark, Dubious Consent, M/M, Manipulation, Post-Serum Steve Rogers, Steve Needs a Hug, Steve is human, Torture, dark bucky, kind of, later on smut, mermaid au, mermaid bucky, merman, poor steve, siren au
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-04-21
Updated: 2017-12-18
Packaged: 2018-10-22 08:50:42
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 7,576
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10693593
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LacriChan/pseuds/LacriChan
Summary: HUMAN STEVE x MERMAN BUCKY"“Do you hear that, too?”“Yes,” Loki replied and Steve looked around, trying to make out the source of the noise.The singing was weird…It was like something he had never heard before … even so, it felt so familiar…Like the gentle touch of his mother…He felt drawn to it.  Steve looked up again and saw that his friends all stared at him? In front of him?He turned around and was met with the sight of blood red eyes. The pupils of the creature were slits and there were grey-blueish scales at the side of its face."UPDATE: This fic will be continued!





	1. The woman

**Author's Note:**

> I should probably finish my other fanfictions first, but I couldn't resist the idea to write something not so fluffy (;  
> So I hope you enjoy chapter 1 :D  
> And don't forget to give me your feedback on this one, I'd be really grateful ;3

It was a very sunny and hot day. The sky was bright blue and there was no single cloud which blocked the bright sun and just the sight of the plain sea was ahead of them.

Little pearls of sweat were gathering on his forehead and he enjoyed the breeze which tickled his skin and ruffled up his short blonde hair, having the familiar taste of sea salt on his tongue.

He narrowed his eyes and held up his hand in order to see more of the endless sea and horizon which lay in front of them, being mesmerized by the amazing view.

Steve felt completely at peace until there came arms around him, and the blond didn’t even have to turn around to know who it was.

“Are you flying yet?”

What? What was Tony talking about?

He turned around in the embrace, leaning against the railing and looking down at Tony who wore his dark sunglasses with a wide grin.

“I was until you came by.” He responded, even though he had truly no idea what he was hinting at… Maybe he meant the feeling Steve had when he watched the ocean beyond them and felt small in comparison.

“No feeling for romance, Cap.”

“What does this have to do with romance?” He asked and noticed how Tony’s jaw literally dropped and he was fixed with a look of disbelief.

“You don-“

But Tony was interrupted by Natasha who now stood beside him in her black bikini top and denim shorts.

“He hasn’t seen your beloved movie or the scene which is somewhat understandable if you ask me.”

Natasha defended him and threw an arm around Tony as she smiled at Steve.

“Hope you lose your shirt sometime before you die from the heat.” She told Steve, glancing not so subtle at Tony for a second, her smirk growing in width before she looked back at him, her hand slightly tugging at his white shirt.

“I think, I’m fine at the moment. Thanks.”

He responded, but there was no way the corner of his lips didn’t tug upwards in this awkward situation.

“Sucks for you.”

She whispered loudly to Tony, so there was no way Steve didn’t hear what she was saying before she turned around with a sway to her hips.

It was hard to make out what expression Tony wore beneath his sunglasses but Steve noticed that his eyes were wide open before he composed himself and instantly turned around to follow Natasha without saying anything further.

“You know I have a girlfriend!”

Tony shouted after her.

“I know, but Pepper isn’t here and you ogle him like your eyes might fall out any second and follow him around.”

“You…”

The rest of the sounds were swallowed by the sounds of the ocean and Steve was thankful for it because their argument already had him flustered. He turned around again, trying to forget their talk and crossed his arms, his hip resting against the railing.

If their week started like that it could only get worse.

 

Months ago, Tony decided that it was time for him and their friends to make a trip. At first, it had been unsure what kind of trip but soon they had agreed to a one week trip to Tony’s private island.

Tony Stark was a billionaire who owned dozens of companies worldwide. His advanced technologies were respected and there was no one who hadn’t heard of “Stark Industries” at least once in their lives. Lately, he was working on new and better prosthetics. Not only had this improved his public image but it also helped a lot of veterans who had lost limbs in war.

And of course, he also owned a whole island for private use which still left Steve speechless, but well. So here they were. They all had made time for their journey and everyone but Pepper was on board. Thor was sitting beside Loki who read one of his books, Sam was leaning against the railing with his smartphone in his hands, Bruce was directing the boat which was also Tony’s, and Natasha was toying around with Clint while Tony looked a little annoyed.

Everything was perfect and he couldn’t wait to arrive at the island and to spend his time with his friends. It had been a long time since they all did something together and Steve kind of missed these times where they all were younger and in school, messing around every second day. Now they all had jobs and responsibilities and it sure was hard to find a day in the week where everybody could spare time or don't need to work. So this was special and he was going to enjoy every second of it.

 

But there was a storm coming up. Clouds were slowly filling the clear sky and blocked the sun’s brightness. Steve watched the sudden change of weather with astonishment and so did the others. Wasn’t the whole week supposed to have good weather? Still, it looked like there was a big storm coming up and he hoped they would arrive before it really started.

“Well, seems like I will never trust the weather forecast again.”

Tony said while he rolled his eyes and went to Bruce to discuss the turn of events with him.

 

“Dear brother, you don’t have to be scared of this force of nature.”

Loki glared at Thor from the corner of his eyes.

“I’m not a child anymore, Thor.”

“But you always came to my bed when there was a thunderstorm, even when you were a t-“

Before Thor could finish his sentence, Loki hit him with his book to stop him from spilling anything more embarrassing.

And he and the others couldn’t do anything else than to burst out into laughter, even more so when Thor threw an arm around his brother and Loki’s expression just turned into the famous “I hate my life”-look.

 

Something from the corner of his eyes caught Steve’s attention. There was something in the water, he was sure of it. He turned around and tried to make out what it is…It looked like a woman? And she seemed to come closer, but how come that there was someone out here? So far from the shore… In the middle of the sea.

“Stop the boat! There’s someone in the water!” Steve shouted and leaned slightly forward to get a better look while his friends followed his eyes.

But the weather just made it harder to see clearly since it started to rain and the sea became stormy.

Everyone was watching the woman who swam really fast towards them …Unnaturally fast.

“Is that a shark?” Clint asked and Steve immediately saw what he meant. There was the sight of a gray fin behind the woman before it disappeared under water.

“Oh shit.”

Sam responded in pure disbelief at the sight before them and Steve’s grip on the railing turned to steel so that his knuckles turned white and he clenched his teeth together.

They had to do something! He had to do something! They couldn’t watch how someone got attacked by a shark… But he didn’t know how to help. He was a good swimmer but that wasn’t the point when a shark was involved and his friends wouldn’t let him jump from the yacht.

“Pull down the ladder!”

He shouted and then climbed the ladder down, so he was able to pull the woman out of the water as fast as possible when she would be in reach.

“Be careful,” Natasha said above him in a kneeling position and he looked up to her in her worried green eyes, before he nodded to reassure her.

The woman got closer and closer and there was no more sign of the shark. Before Steve had the chance to see her from a short distance, there was a wave and then the woman disappeared.

Steve looked up at his friends with knitted eyebrows, his hand holding onto the slippery ladder while the other was hanging at his side.

“She just ducked under the water.”

Bruce answered him, while he kept his look on the spot the woman just had been.

“What the fuck is going on?” , muttered Tony, pulling off his sunglasses.

Then…There was singing? Someone was singing? He looked ahead, but there was no one, not a sight of anything but the stormy sea waves which got higher and higher and the rain that influenced his sight. Something definitely was wrong… He had a bad feeling about this.

“Do you hear that, too?”

“Yes.” Loki replied and Steve looked around, trying to make out the source of the noise.

The singing was weird…It was like something he had never heard before … even so, it felt so familiar…Like the gentle touch of his mother…He felt drawn to it. Steve looked up again and saw that his friends all stared... at him? In front of him?

He turned around and was met with the sight of blood red eyes. The pupils of the creature were slits and there were grey-blueish scales at the side of its face. The skin of it was pale and had a tint of blue to it, the hair was dark blonde and long. As he followed the length of the hair, he noticed with horror that there were gills at each side of its neck and it was covered in single scales. Steve became aware of the fact that this creature was the woman they saw… He tightened his grip and was about to pull himself up but suddenly there were razor sharp teeth that bored into the muscle of his shoulder and he was pulled underwater.

The creature had a tight grip on him and its nails dug painfully into his skin. There was no way he could escape or free himself. He looked down and saw the full body of this being. It had a long dark gray tail covered in tiny scales and also long fins on the side of its tail which looked like veils unfolding in the wind. There had never been a shark… The fin was actually this beast’s fin. Oh, God.

He trashed around in hope to be able to get to the surface but the creature just removed its teeth from the wound and Steve’s already blurry vision was filled with red. His blood. He screamed in pain which took his last supply of oxygen and he noticed how he was pulled deeper and deeper. This being was planning to drown him and even worse eat him. Steve lost the power to fight back, not being able to hold his breath any longer. He wanted to get a last glance at the surface but before he could make out anything else, his world became dark and he blacked out.

 

 

He blinked his eyes open with a loud groan, propping himself up against the rock and leaning back. Trying to remember what happened, these horrible pictures came back to his mind…But that had to be a dream, right? There was no way that these creatures, no, mermaids existed. It could only be a dream… Also, the fact that he was alive was also a hint that he dreamed about it, instead of it really happening. He looked around and found himself in something like a cave, which had a trail to the sea, but Steve was sure he needed to dive really deep and long to get out of it. At least he wasn’t surrounded by darkness thanks to the bigger hole on the top but it was still dark enough that he wasn’t able to make out any details. Still, there was the question how he ended up here… He tried to stand up, pushing his body from the stone wall and immediately fell back against it as the pain from his left shoulder surged through his entire body and he had to clench his teeth together in order to suppress a cry. His hand shot up and pressed down on the wound which just made it even worse, but he knew the wound was still bleeding horribly.

His eyes instantly stared at the blue water and its surface. His hand added, even more, pressure to the wound as he backed up to the corner that was farthest away from the water and covered in darkness. Then there was quiet except for his heavy breath and the sounds of his unsteady heartbeat filling the air. The ground was wet and cold - as the walls, he leaned on were - but he couldn’t care less at the moment… His thoughts and worries were elsewhere.

It was no dream… There was no woman… No shark… There was singing. There only were these monsters which resembled women and one of them had bored its razor-sharp teeth into his shoulder to taste his flesh… But how? How was he even here? There was no way he escaped the creature by himself. And… And what about his friends? Oh no, he didn’t even want to imagine that anything could have happened to them, but they were still on the boat, so there was no way these creatures were able to harm or reach them… They had to be safe… They just had to be.

 

Seconds, minutes and hours passed while Steve kept looking at the water… In fear that there could be one of the creatures any second, emerging from the water and tearing flesh from his bones. The fear of the unknown was not enough though, Steve was exhausted and so he dropped off.

He awoke only a little later and his gaze fell immediately back to the lagoon and he noticed as a dark shadow came from the depths of the sea and broke through the surface. He watched with horror as the creature pulled its body from the water and dragged itself towards Steve. He immediately pressed himself further against the cave wall, wishing the cave just would give in or swallow him whole, so he wouldn’t need to face the creature.

There was no way out.

The terrifying sounds of the wet body sliding over the ground made Steve’s pulse quicken and there was no single muscle in his body that wasn’t strained. His breath hitched as he heard the sound continuously.

SLIDE.

Closer and Closer.

The creature was now under the soft ray of light which was the only light source and Steve saw …him?

It was a man with brown hair that almost reached his shoulders. His eyes were pale blue, piercing through the darkness and were directly looking at him, even though he was hiding in the shadows. His body was muscular and instead of the pale color of the creature’s skin, he was tanned.

Maybe… Maybe he was also attacked? A human? But where was he from then? Steve was about to crawl towards the man before the light fell onto the man’s tail…Its tail...Like the one, the mermaid had which attacked him… Just not quite as long and instead of a simple gray, it was more of a mix of blue and purple, the scales reflecting the light. The fins were the same color, just not as dark. But there were no visible gills on his neck and also no scales that were covering the upper half of his body. But Steve wasn’t about to trust the rather harmless look of this one.

Why did he look different? Was he saved by this man/creature? Could he speak his language?

So he didn’t move an inch, knowing there was no use at all. He didn’t have a chance against him in swimming and he knew for sure that others of these creatures were still out there.

“What do you want from me?” He shouted at the still approaching being but didn’t get an answer.

It only stopped when it was right before him, staring at him, his eyes still have a glow to them even in the dark. His breath came heavy and he didn’t dare to move a single muscle. He couldn’t make out any movement from the creature either, so he repeated his question, but there was no answer.

“Why didn’t you kill me?”

No answer.

“Where are my friends?”

No answer.

“What are you? You don’t look like the other one I encountered?”

He didn’t know why he still asked questions but he didn’t know what else to do. There would still be no answer.

Suddenly, he felt immense pain in his wound as sharp nails were pressing into his flesh and pressed even deeper, stirring around. Immediately he covered the hand of the other with his own, trying to tear his grip from him but he was so much stronger than him and Steve screamed at the feeling of these fingers tearing through his muscle.

“That must hurt.”

The man in front of him said , removing his claws. His voice sounded deep and amused and Steve looked at him with an outworn expression. He panted and flinched when the man pressed something on his wound - something which thankfully wasn't his nails this time.

So it/he could speak? Steve didn’t know why he was still here, why this creature enjoyed inflicting pain to him or why he didn’t answer any of his questions.

There was no way Steve was giving up, though, so he asked another question. A simple one.

“What’s your name?”

The creature leaned back and his tail jerked slightly upwards before he answered.

“James.”

 


	2. Exhaustion

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> 《《Steve struggling with himself and James.》》

Steve looked at him, keeping his eyes on the hunched form in front of him. He didn’t know why but he expected a different name. A name which he had never heard before maybe, but definitely nothing like a common name like ‘James’.

“James…” He repeated to make sure that he didn’t mishear anything and when he wasn’t corrected, he at least had now a name for the creature. James was it then.

“I’m…” Steve started his sentence, however, he wasn’t sure it was any use to introduce himself but he did it anyway.

“Steve. My name’s Steve.”

James glanced at his wound and back up to look him directly in his eyes. He didn’t know why but he felt like he was pulled in by the gaze of the other and it felt like he couldn’t take his eyes off him, even if he wanted to. The color was mesmerizing and he had never seen such piercing but oddly beautiful eyes before. Well, at least not on humans. Steve didn’t even know why he thought about things like this when he should be terrified, no, he was terrified but at the same time he was not as long as he looked into James’ eyes.

“I know.”

The spell broke.

He did? How? Was he only telling him that because he knew that it’d make him unsure and confused.

“There’s no way you could know that.”

“Oh yeah?” James asked sarcastically before there was a smirk tugging at his lips that disappeared as soon as it appeared.

“Everyone was screaming that name after you so it wasn’t really hard to figure out.”

“You, wha-"

But he wasn’t thinking about to finish that sentence as realization dawned on him - his breath hitched and the words got stuck in his throat before he launched forward to get to the being and put his hands around his throat so he could press down as hard as he could but there was the sudden pain that started from his shoulder and surged through his whole body and thus he fell on the cold slippery ground. His hand was pressed to his wound and his teeth clenched tightly together. He was helpless. There was no use. But he wouldn’t give up. He never did.

Steve reached out with his left hand that was immediately pinned to the ground dolorously.

“Wha-” But his voice broke so he took a deep breath and tried again. “What happened to my friends?”

Quiet.

Steve lifted his head slightly to be able to look at James whose eyes were fixated on him but it felt more like he was looking through him, instead of at him, brown strands hanging down his face.

“You shouldn’t move anymore.” He then simply stated before he grabbed Steve by his shoulders and pushed him back onto the cold stone of the cave.

James had ignored any questions about his friends and that made him desperate. The unknown was eating at him. Slowly.

He was about to repeat the action, no matter how painful the movement was but James pressed him instantly back against the rough wall of the cave, looking irritated.

“Don’t move.” He snarled, not taking his hand from Steve’s chest to make sure that he couldn’t try again.

“Tell me. Where are they?” Steve asked again and when he thought he wouldn’t get an answer he added a desperate sounding ‘Please’.

Therefore James’ pupils got even smaller and his nostrils flared before he looked back to him.

“I don’t know.”

What? But he had to know, he was lying! Steve pressed forward, he knew he couldn’t move but James could at least feel the resistance against his palm. That was enough to be glared at.

“You don’t know? Tell me, you asshole.”  He glared back, ignoring the pain of his wound for now.

“Probably, dead, eaten, drowned or they killed themselves.”  James finally answered in a cold voice as he removed his hand from his chest and was no longer holding him in place. There was no more need for that since Steve had no strength for any more fight. He let his weight fall back against the stone, his head hitting the wall with a dull sound.

It couldn’t be. His friends were alive. They just had to be. They were on the boat, there was no possibility that these creatures could have reached them. There couldn’t be.

His eyes were unfocused and wide open as the wetness made its way down his face. There was nothing. The pain from the wound seemed lost.

Why was he still alive? Why should he be?

There was something warm on his face and he noticed it was James’ hand that cupped his cheek. Steve tried to focus on his face but he couldn’t make out any features due to the darkness and the tears which were flowing uncontrollably and made his vision blurry.

The hand tilted his head upwards and James looked at him directly, the silver even in this state noticeable.

“I will come back.”

He heard him say and afterward the piercing gray disappeared from his sight and he heard the loud splash of water that echoed through the small cave before it faded away. The creature, James was away. Left him. By himself.

Time passed by until there were no more tears he could shed. Time passed by until he was too weary to keep his eyes open and he fell asleep from exhaustion.

Steve varied between being awake for a few hours before he fell unconscious again. He didn’t know how much time had passed. Since how long James had been away.

It felt like days. Every second like an hour. His body was weak and everything he could do was lying against the hard surface. The taste of salt on his tongue became stronger, his mouth felt dry like his skin and lips, feeling like they’d tear apart any second. The pain developed in a dull ache and the skin around the wound felt strangely numb.

Steve didn’t know why he was still alive. He didn’t know if he wanted to be alive. His friends were dead. So should he be. There was no use. Death awaited him anyway, so he could give up, give up fighting back. He could just accept his fate. His pale blue eyes looked up to the only light source. The last light he’d ever see.

Steve closed his eyes again and just when he was about to fully accept that there was no use anymore, he could hear Peggy’s voice.

“Steve. Don’t turn your back on me.”

He opened his eyes again, his gaze focusing again.

_It had been over a week since his mother died. After she died Steve shut himself off. He didn’t meet up with anyone, he stayed at home and tried to forget his surrounding or the walls in his room that appeared to come closer and wanted to crush him. All Steve could think about was his mother and the smile she put on even though she was in pain. He had never expected his mother would die so soon…But she did and he was alone. Without her. She left him._

_His phone rang day in day out but the sound of it was weak to Steve’s ears, he couldn’t bring himself to answer it. He hardly ate or slept during that time, feeling like no matter how much he ate or slept, he’d still feel as if he had eaten nothing or hadn’t slept at all, tiredness spreading out like an illness, taking over his whole body._

_One day the doorbell rang and Steve brought himself to open the door._

_In front of the door stood Peggy, looking like she just saw a ghost, her red lips hanging open before she called his name and came in. As soon as the door shut, Steve felt a hand on his shoulder when he was about to make some tea for his guest._

_“Steve.” He heard her say again and her grip on his shoulder tightened. “Look at me. Don’t turn your back on me.”_

_And he did. At least he turned towards her but he couldn’t bring himself to look into her deep brown eyes. He knew they were filled with concern._

_Peggy took a hold of his chin and tilted his face downwards, so he had no chance than to lock eyes with her. The look she gave him was full of love._

_“I’m here for you. Don’t shut me off. You don’t have to go through this alone.”_

But he shook his head… There was nothing.

“I’m okay. I’m gonna-“

_He was about to turn around again when she stopped him in his movement._

_“No, you’re not okay and it’s okay not to be. I can only imagine how you feel.”_

_He pushed her hand away and gritted his teeth together, forming a tight line._

_“Can you really?” Tears were filling his eyes. “She’s gone, Peggy! I have nothing left! There’s no use!”_

_And he broke down._

_She took him in her arms and instead of being angry with him for shouting she comforted him._

_“I know. I knew her for a long time, too," She began while she stroked his hair and he cried into the soft material of her blouse. “But you’re not alone and you know that. There’s always something worth living for and you just have to find it, even if your world is filled with darkness.”_

_He cried quietly the hallway in silence except for his unsteady breathing._

_“I’m sorry.” He muttered against the fabric._

_“You don’t have to be. Just don’t give up, never give up and don’t shut me off again. You don’t have to be alone in this.”_

_She said in a soft lower voice and Steve nodded._

He wouldn’t give up. Not yet. Not until he didn’t give its everything.

 

 

The blond recognized the familiar sound of a body heaving itself out of the water.  His blue eyes wandered to James who used his muscular arms to slide towards him, an old cloth bag on his back.

He stopped shortly, before him, bringing the bag down and putting the things he brought with him on the floor. There was a bottle of water, coconuts, and fish.

He wondered where James got the bottle of water from or how he was able to get coconuts but he didn't think too much about it.

Instead, Steve looked back to James whose eyes wandered from him to the goods and back to him. Oh. He wanted that Steve ate and drank.

Sadly Steve felt like he couldn’t move a muscle.  His whole body uncooperative.

He flinched together as James pressed something on his wound. It smelled like the same stuff he put on earlier. Steve was confused.

On the one side, this creature hurt him, made his wound even worse and didn’t seem to care all too much about his feelings but on the other hand he treated his wound and brought him food and water. He was alive because of him. That much he knew. But still, there was the question why James didn’t kill him and why he wanted him alive. As much as he thought about it to figure it out, he couldn’t put a finger to it.

“Drink.”

James’ voice tore through the silence and the weak sound of the shallow waves of the water, hitting the walls of the cave.

Steve couldn’t respond, his voice seemed lost.

Without getting a response, James removed the lid from the plastic bottle and held the bottle filled with water to his dry lips, slowly tilting it. He growled when the water merely spilled over his lips and made its way down his chin.

James looked at him, his brows pinched together as he held the bottle to his own lips and took a large sip before he rushed forward, pinning Steve’s chin between his thumb and index finger, tilting his face up and pressing his lips to his. Steve’s eyes clenched tightly together reflexively and he tried to get away but there’s no way he could escape the tight grip. So he tried to close his mouth, but the other held his jaw open and pushed his tongue into his mouth, the water in James’ mouth filling his mouth and he swallowed it, having no other choice. 

James repeated the process and as Steve tried to move his head to the side, he felt something cut his lip. The water in his mouth tasting of iron before he swallowed it as well. When James removed himself from Steve and ended the assault, Steve noticed the blood on the others lip. It wasn’t his blood. It was Steve’s. His teeth tore through the sensitive skin of his lips when he tried to escape the onslaught. His teeth were sharp.

James lifted his hand to his lip, inspected his hand and licked Steve’s blood from his fingertips without a blink.

This little action reminded him of the whole danger he was in. At any second James could end his life. Steve was the prey and James the predator.

Right in this moment, though, James wanted him to eat. And he pressed the raw fish - he removed the fish bones from - to his mouth and Steve opened without protest, fearing the same process of the water if he didn’t cooperate.

He hated the taste of raw fish. He had never liked something like Sushi or anything.

Therefore, he chewed the fish longer than necessary before he forced himself to swallow, only to end up with the next piece of fish against his mouth and the same process all over. The being was only pleased when he finished the whole fish.

Steve felt better now. Still, exhausted but better. He wanted to keep fighting, so he needed to get better.

He took in the sight of the long tail, the end of it in water. It always felt like the darkness weakened when Bucky was apparent since the scales on his tail reflected the light and illuminated this dark hole.

The tail jerked upwards shooting tiny drops of water in the air when James moved his body and leaned on the wall, his eyes on him, as always.

“Why are you different?”

He remembered the red eyes and the horrifying picture of the other creature he encountered. It hardly looked human whereas James did. Beside his tail and his gills he almost looked normal, that’s why he had thought he was another human when he had only seen the upper half of his body.

James’ whole body tensed up after Steve uttered his question and his jaw flexed uncontrollably.There was a tight grip around his throat and Steve swallowed hard, the grip eased and James retracted his left hand. No words. No answer. After this reaction, Steve thought that the other would never give an answer to this question. At least not if he didn’t want to talk about it by himself without Steve bringing it up in any way. He wondered what this was about.

“Why didn’t you kill me?”

He asked then instead and hoped that he would get an answer this time. He wasn’t sure why he even asked James anything, the only thing that counted was that he could escape as soon as possible.

“I was bored.” James answered and tried to sound indifferent but there was more to it than that. Steve knew it. But it didn’t keep his mind at ease. Not a scrap. 

Steve wouldn't give up, he had promised that to himself on that day, no matter what.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you liked the second chapter (;  
> Let me know what you think. c: Comments and Kudos give me a lot of motivation!! ♥


	3. Endurance

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Steve taking the chance he gets.

**Endurance**

 

 

 

Steve dropped his gaze from James. The creature was... bored? That was the only reason? He didn't want to think about the consequences this had. He needed to escape somehow... maybe the next time James was leaving him here.

The thing was, he couldn't wait that much longer. He felt weaker and weaker with every passing hour.

And his friends? James said they were probably dead and he believed him, but how could he be sure? The faster he got away the better, maybe they were okay. He wouldn't know. But for now, he held onto the possibility that they were still alive, maybe looking for him even... The other reality was too cruel.

 

As he was lost in thoughts there was that singing again. The beautiful melody. But this time it sounded different. More entrancing. It felt as if the sound was surging through his whole body and made him feel peaceful, forgetting all the gruesome things. He was captivated by it. Drawn to it. As he felt a warm body pressing against his side, throwing an arm around him and pulling him in, he was shocked to notice that it was James who made these wonderful sounds. He wanted to push him away with all his might, never did he want to be near someone like this being. Steve wanted to scream, anything. But he couldn't. His body simply accepted the so gruesome touch and his head rested on the chest of the other. The longer the singing continued, the more he felt like he didn't mind to be so close to him. In the opposite. It felt like he couldn't be close enough. Every inch apart felt like it hurt and the only source to abate the pain was to press himself against James fully.

His skin was buzzing with false happiness and an unknown warmth spread in his body as he lay on top of the creature. He never felt so content. Steve was sure he could be spending the rest of his life doing nothing more than to lie in James' arms, listening to the deep but soft melody coming from his lips and James' breath tickling his skin.

There were fingers combing through his short blonde hair, the claws that hu- ...that felt good against his scalp and therefore, he leaned into the touch.

 

“Sleep.”

 

Steve wanted to protest but he felt his eyes already closing, his eyelids feeling heavy. And not long after he was drawn to sleep without a single worry on his mind.

 

 

 

 

 

 

When Steve woke up – unsure of the time he actually spent asleep – he was still resting on James. The moment he realized this, he pushed himself away with as much strength as he could muster at his current state. The force was enough to send him falling against the cold moist ground and he landed on his side, his injured shoulder taking the impact.

 

Steve screamed at the pain that surged through his shoulder, accidentally biting his tongue as the pain got worse when he tried to move. The taste of copper filled his mouth, blood tainting one corner of his mouth as he whimpered.

 

Suddenly there was a painful grip in his hair which forced him to look in these all too familiar intense eyes. The eyes which looked like the cold sea but now they looked even colder - if that was possible.

“You know, you make some things unnecessarily complicated,” James growled as he gripped Steve's shirt and heaved him up, pushing him against the wall.

 

“Shut the fuck up!” the blonde forced out, pressing his hands against James' chest to keep him at distance.

 

The other just gave an amused smile as he slapped Steve's hands away and tore the fabric of his shirt to have a better look at the wound, his tail moving slightly as he leaned forward.

 

“You're interesting,” he said as he looked at the wound to Steve and down again, “but if you keep on doing things without putting your thoughts to it and your wound won't heal up and only gets worse”, he continued, his eyes looking dangerously from the mere distance “you put all my efforts to waste.”

The grin fading from the creature's face as his gaze bore into him, like needles piercing his skin ever so slowly.

 

Steve tried to hold the others gaze - his anger showing - but he failed as he felt like he couldn't stare into James' eyes any longer.

 

“Oh, I'm sorry that I make things more difficult for you”, he spat out and his nails dug into the cold stone beneath him “but I couldn't care less.”

 

James hummed, his gaze never leaving the blondes.

 

“But I chose you and it would be a waste for you to die on me, just because of your own actions.”

 

His own actions? What?

 

“Who the hell keeps me here?”, he shouted “I'm not your little plaything and I won't do what you want just because you're saying it! I have my own will an-!”

 

“Do you?”, James asked, coming even closer. His face mere inches away from him.

 

Steve's eyebrows contracted as he was taken aback by the question and a look of confusion was forming on his face.

 

“What?”, he replied but his question was left unanswered as James only stared at him.

 

Slowly memories came back to him and he knew exactly what James was hinting at. His eyes widened in realization and he looked away as a flush spread on his face and his cheeks started to burn from embarrassment.

 

Before he had fallen asleep... James was singing and his voice... It made him lose control of his own body and then eventually also overtook his mind as he was drawn to him like a moth to the light.

 

A warm hand cupped his cheek and the thumb traced his cheekbone with slow movements.  
  
“What a lovely color.”

 

The blonde turned his head away from the touch.

 

“That was your doing. It was you. You forced me to... with your voice.”

 

“I did indeed,” James admitted and smiled “but isn't it funny how easy it can be to change your mind? Humans are such easy prey, I only have to sing to make them lose their minds and they become possessed with the feeling to get closer and closer to me until they're close enough and I can sate my hunger,” he chuckled before he continued, “but you're lucky.”

 

All that information made James even more dangerous. Even without the ability of manipulation, he was deadly enough to either kill him with his claws, his sharp teeth or he could simply drown him. Steve swallowed audibly. This also meant there was no way to escape him when he was close to James.

 

“How so? 'Cause you didn't eat me?”

 

“No,” he slid his thumb along Steve's lower lip, wiping off the blood that escaped his mouth. James' eyes followed the movement mesmerized.

 

“Because I chose not to kill you yet and you have the chance to spend some time with me.”

 

He flicked his tongue out to lick away the last traces of blood and while doing so his pupils widened slightly before they contracted again.

 

“So you still plan on killing me?”

 

“At the moment? Yes.”

 

“But...why do you eat humans? I mean you-”

  
“Why not?”

 

Steve couldn't answer that question and that horrified him even more.

 

 

 

 

The next hours were spent in silence. Neither of them started a new conversation and Steve didn't really want to be left off with his horrible thoughts but talking to James made everything just worse.

So they sat there, or at least Steve sat there while James occasionally slid his tail into the water or he plunged in completely.

Whenever James entered the water, Steve hoped he was going to fetch some food and freshwater.

 

 

James went in the water once more, crossing his arms on the cold surface of the cave, looking Steve in the eyes as the blonde already lost hope that James was about to swim off.

 

“I'll be back soon. Don't try anything stupid,” the creature warned him as he his eyes were glued to Steve's, watching his every movement. He just nodded and James disappeared in the blink of an eye in the water.

 

Of course, he was going to try something stupid. Although, escaping this hell hole didn't sound stupid to him. He had to take this opportunity. Who knew when the next chance came.

He waited a few moments since it could be a test, but after nothing happened he moved.

Steve scrambled forward and every muscle in his body ached with his every movement but Steve tried to ignore the feeling. He had to go. No matter how bad it hurt.

The worst part was that he had no idea how long James was gonna be away... so he had to hurry.

 

As he reached the edge which led to the water, he slowly lowered himself down. The water felt cold against his skin and as it reached his wound he bit his lips hard enough to draw blood. The salt in the water felt like fire burning him but Steve tried to suppress the urge to climb up again. He could bear it. No. He had to bear it.

 

He let the edge go and looked beneath him. There was nothing but darkness. The movement of his left arm was limited thanks to the wound but he could manage it with the strength of his legs and his right arm.

How deep was it? How long did he need to hold his breath? He didn't know. Were there other mermaids? Possibly.

Steve shook his head. He shouldn't think about all the ways this could go wrong since the alternative of staying here wasn't better.

He tried to calm himself down before he took one last deep breath and he disappeared beneath the surface.

 

 

The water was even colder the deeper he swam, but he gave his best to continue nevertheless. He almost didn't see anything as he dived deeper and the sun was blocked out. The water was burning in his eyes and he had a hard time keeping them open, the pain of his shoulders getting worse and the pressure in his ears was unbearable.

 

It was a lot deeper than he expected and Steve thought he was going to drown without finding a way out – or that he had to turn back- but he finally saw the water becoming lighter. There was the opening. The way out. He could do it! Steve pulled himself along the rocks that lead him out with all his strength.

The moment he was through the opening, he fought to swim quickly to the surface 'cause he couldn't hold his breath any longer. He was rather far away but he kept swimming, the water around him losing its depth. His legs ached with the forceful movements to reach the surface in time, but he was almost there. He made it! He made-

 

 

Only seconds before he broke the surface a grip on his ankle was pulling him down. Steve tried to fight off the others hold on him, but the creature was that much stronger than him. It pulled him back down again. Deeper and deeper, away from his destination. His vision became blurry, his lungs constricting with the lack of oxygen. He had been too slow... James got him before he could make it. How could he have believed that he could make it in time? The shape of the sun faded away and so did Steve's hopes.

 

One last glance down though made clear that it wasn't James. It was one of the other mermaids. Steve closed his eyes, felt all his strength leaving him. That was the end. Razor-sharp teeth bore into the flesh of his right leg and Steve hoped that he was about to pass out before the creature began to tear the flesh off his bones. Even when everything felt dull already.

 

 

Maybe... Just Maybe, he should have stayed back in the cave with James.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey ~  
> I'm finally continuing this story! ♥
> 
> Hopefully, I won't take too long for the next chapter. (:  
> I would make me happy if you leave me your thoughts on this story in the comments, apart from that:  
> Thanks for reading! 
> 
>  
> 
> (This story has no beta, therefore, are all mistakes my own)


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